Hi, we're your host's Anthony Delaney and Maddie Pelling.

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Hello and welcome to After Dark. Now, Egypt is often remembered for its grandeur, for its golden sarcophagi, god kings and heavenly

tombs. But behind the incense and the hymns was a darker truth.

Pharaohs who ruled through fear, bloodshed, and merciless displays of power. Here's Maddie

to tell us more.

The sand is slick and streaked with blood. Spears snapped, chariots crashed, and men screamed as the sun beat down, pitiless and blinding. Somewhere in the chaos, a pharaoh rode through the slaughter, not cloaked in ceremony, but in dust, sweat, and the blood of his enemies.

And standing amid the broken bodies of his enemies is Pharaoh Ammanotep, no priestly robes,

no polished throne, just a sword in his hand, and the severed head of a defeated chief at his feet. This was a manatep,

a warrior king of ancient Egypt. Not content to rule from a throne, he claimed to have fought at the

front line, seized enemy chiefs with his own hands, and cut them down where they stood. According to

his own chilling inscriptions, the bodies of these vanquished leaders were

stripped, mutilated, and nailed to the walls of Egypt's temples. Grusome trophies to remind gods

and mortals alike who really held power. Imagine walking into a palace of worship and seeing the

sun-blackened corpses of your king's enemies

dangling from the pillars. This wasn't just war. It was a theatre of dominance, played out

on sacred ground. Forget the pharaohs of your schoolbooks. This is divine kingship

wrapped in brutality. This is after dark, and this is ancient Egypt's mostly because you have asked for this. This is something of course is after dark, where today we will be stepping further into the darker side of ancient

Egypt, mostly because you have asked for this. This is something that we've looked at in a previous

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